Systems, methods and devices for activity recognition

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and devices for recognizing user activity using data from accelerometer or other sensors. “Feature-based” approach and “model-based” approaches are described. In a feature-based approach, various values are extracted from input signals and projected onto a space that is selected to facilitate better segregation of data points. Classifiers identify the regions in this projected space in which the data points fall to distinguish between the different activity types. In a “model-based” approach, a generative model is trained for each activity type. Different activity types can be distinguished by identifying similarities between the input data with the generative models.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/970,454, filed Mar. 26, 2014, and U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/970,482, filed Mar. 26, 2014. The entirecontents of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/970,454 and61/970,482 are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The various embodiments described herein generally relate to systems,methods and devices for activity recognition. In particular, the variousembodiments described herein relate to recognition of exerciseactivities using a wearable device.

BACKGROUND

Wearable computing systems are an emerging category of devices. Thesedevices enable users to perform a variety of tasks. For example, usersmay virtually interact with online accounts; record and/or observeinformation such as videos, images, and sounds; control other computingsystems and other connected appliance; interact with other people; andin some instances monitor the current conditions, state and performanceof an individual's body.

Devices capable of monitoring an individual's fitness have becomeincreasingly popular. Monitoring and maintaining physical fitness is anongoing concern for individuals with busy lifestyles, and this concernis becoming more pronounced with an aging population. As a result,demand is increasing for devices that can track physical activities andindividual fitness.

Many devices currently available provide only minimal insight, and mayrequire manual input to properly measure various metrics associated withexercise.

SUMMARY OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

In a broad aspect, at least one embodiment described herein provides amethod of analyzing activity of a user's body using at least onewearable device positioned on one or more body locations of a user, themethod comprising: receiving a plurality of signals from at least onesensor of the at least one wearable device; filtering the plurality ofsignals to generate a plurality of filtered signals; generating motiondata from the plurality of filtered signals; classifying the motion datato identify an activity type.

In some embodiments, the at least one sensor measures acceleration, andthe plurality of signals comprise acceleration signals. In someembodiments, generating the motion data comprises computing a pluralityof position signals based on the acceleration signals.

In some embodiments, computing the plurality of position signalscomprises removing low-frequency components and integrating twice toobtain position signals. In some embodiments, filtering the plurality ofsignals comprises low pass filtering each of the plurality of signals.

In some embodiments, generating the motion data further comprisessegmenting quasi-periodic portions in the plurality of position signals.

In some embodiments, classifying the motion data comprises: modeling,using the processor, a plurality of possible activity classes of the atleast one wearable device in a segmented portion; and computing alikeliest class for the segmented portion, out of the plurality ofpossible activity classes. In some cases, computing the likeliest classcomprises comparing the computed likeliest class with at least oneprevious class computed by the processor. In some cases, the modeling isHidden Markov Modeling and wherein each of the plurality of possibleactivity classes is modeled using a pre-trained modeler.

In some embodiments, generating the motion data comprises generating aplurality of feature vectors based on the plurality of filtered signals,wherein each feature vector comprises a plurality of feature values, andwherein each feature vector is associated with a time step of thefiltered signals. In some cases, each feature vector comprises timedomain and frequency domain data based on the plurality of filteredsignals. In some cases, each feature vector is computed over a movingtime window. In some cases, generating the motion data further comprisesmapping the plurality of feature vectors onto a selected feature space.

In some embodiments, the mapping is determined by ANOVA computation overa training data set. In some embodiments, the predetermined featurespace is predetermined by Principal Component Analysis of a trainingdata set.

In some embodiments, classifying the motion data comprises performing,using the processor, hierarchical classification to compute a likeliestclass for a current time step.

In some embodiments, computing the likeliest class comprises comparingthe computed likeliest class with at least one previous class computedby the processor.

In some embodiments, the at least one sensor further comprises apositioning sensor, wherein the plurality of signals comprises positiondata from the positioning sensor, and wherein generating the motion datafurther comprises determining position from the position data.

In another broad aspect, at least one embodiment described hereinprovides a system for analyzing activity of a user's body using at leastone wearable device positioned on one or more body locations of a user,the system comprising: at least one wearable device comprising at leastone sensor positionable on the user; a processor operatively coupled tothe at least one sensor, the processor configured to: receive aplurality of signals from the at least one sensor of the at least onewearable device; filter the plurality of signals to generate a pluralityof filtered signals; generate motion data from the plurality of filteredsignals; classify the motion data to identify an activity type.

In yet another broad aspect, at least one embodiment described hereinprovides a non-transitory computer readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a computerprocessor, cause the computer processor to carry out a method ofanalyzing activity of a user's body using at least one wearable devicepositioned on one or more body locations of a user, the methodcomprising: receiving a plurality of signals from at least one sensor ofthe at least one wearable device; filtering the plurality of signals togenerate a plurality of filtered signals; using a processor, generatingmotion data from the plurality of filtered signals; classifying themotion data to identify an activity type.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various embodiments described herein,and to show more clearly how these various embodiments may be carriedinto effect, reference will be made, by way of example, to theaccompanying drawings which show at least one example embodiment, andwhich are now briefly described:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a systemfor activity tracking;

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an exploded view of an exampleembodiment of a wearable device that can be used in the system of FIG.1;

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating various examples of the placement on auser's body of example embodiments of a wearable device;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating various components of an exampleembodiment of a wearable device;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating various components of an exampleembodiment of a signal acquisition unit for a wearable device;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating various components of anotherexample embodiment of a signal acquisition unit for a wearable device;

FIG. 4C is a block diagram illustrating various components of amultiplexer configuration that may be used in an example embodiment of asignal acquisition unit for a wearable device;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example embodiment of theprocessing that may be performed on acquired signals when using thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example embodiment of a method foractivity tracking;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating various components used toacquire and process bio-signals in an example embodiment of the activitytracking system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are side and front views, respectively, of a user's legillustrating an example positioning of a wearable device;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process for analyzing activity of a user'sbody using a wearable device positioned on a user's limb;

FIG. 10A illustrates another example process for analyzing activity of auser's body using a model-based approach;

FIG. 10B illustrates an example process for training models for use inthe process of FIG. 10A;

FIG. 10C illustrates an example Hidden Markov Model structure;

FIG. 11A illustrates another example process for analyzing activity of auser's body using a feature-based approach;

FIG. 11B illustrates an example process for identifying feature spacesfor use in the process of FIG. 11A;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example hierarchical classification approachusable with the process of FIG. 11A;

FIG. 13 illustrates another example classification approach usable withthe process of FIG. 11A;

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate example acceleration signals andpre-processed acceleration signals, respectively;

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate example acceleration signals and filteredacceleration signals, respectively; and

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate example datasets mapped into projectedfeature spaces in accordance with the process of FIG. 11A.

Further aspects and features of the embodiments described herein willappear from the following description taken together with theaccompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various systems or methods will be described below to provide an exampleof an embodiment of the claimed subject matter. No embodiment describedbelow limits any claimed subject matter and any claimed subject mattermay cover methods or systems that differ from those described below. Theclaimed subject matter is not limited to systems or methods having allof the features of any one system or method described below or tofeatures common to multiple or all of the apparatuses or methodsdescribed below. It is possible that a system or method described belowis not an embodiment that is recited in any claimed subject matter. Anysubject matter disclosed in a system or method described below that isnot claimed in this document may be the subject matter of anotherprotective instrument, for example, a continuing patent application, andthe applicants, inventors or owners do not intend to abandon, disclaimor dedicate to the public any such subject matter by its disclosure inthis document.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity ofillustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may berepeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogouselements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in orderto provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein.However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat the embodiments described herein may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theembodiments described herein. Also, the description is not to beconsidered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.

It should also be noted that the terms “coupled” or “coupling” as usedherein can have several different meanings depending in the context inwhich these terms are used. For example, the terms coupled or couplingcan have a mechanical, electrical or communicative connotation. Forexample, as used herein, the terms coupled or coupling can indicate thattwo elements or devices can be directly connected to one another orconnected to one another through one or more intermediate elements ordevices via an electrical element, electrical signal or a mechanicalelement depending on the particular context. Furthermore, the term“communicative coupling” may be used to indicate that an element ordevice can electrically, optically, or wirelessly send data to anotherelement or device as well as receive data from another element ordevice.

It should also be noted that, as used herein, the wording “and/or” isintended to represent an inclusive-or. That is, “X and/or Y” is intendedto mean X or Y or both, for example. As a further example, “X, Y, and/orZ” is intended to mean X or Y or Z or any combination thereof.

It should be noted that terms of degree such as “substantially”, “about”and “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviationof the modified term such that the end result is not significantlychanged. These terms of degree may also be construed as including adeviation of the modified term if this deviation would not negate themeaning of the term it modifies.

Furthermore, any recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints hereinincludes all numbers and fractions subsumed within that range (e.g. 1 to5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.90, 4, and 5). It is also to beunderstood that all numbers and fractions thereof are presumed to bemodified by the term “about” which means a variation of up to a certainamount of the number to which reference is being made if the end resultis not significantly changed.

Described herein are example embodiments of systems, methods andwearable devices for determining various exercise metrics for anindividual user. Generally, the various metrics can be determined bycapturing movement or position data (e.g., using an accelerometer), or aplurality of electrical signals from a skin surface of the user, orboth. Calibration data can be generated based on a subset of thecaptured electrical signals, and in some cases electromyography signalscan be processed using the calibration data to determine at least onebiometric. Examples of biometric features that may be determined invarious embodiments described herein include muscle intensity, musclecoordination, muscle ratio, muscle fatigue, lactate levels, andhydration.

The example embodiments of the systems and methods described herein maybe implemented as a combination of hardware or software. In some cases,the example embodiments described herein may be implemented, at least inpart, by using one or more computer programs, executing on one or moreprogrammable devices comprising at least one processing element, and adata storage element (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/orstorage elements). These devices may also have at least one input device(e.g. a pushbutton keyboard, mouse, a touchscreen, and the like), and atleast one output device (e.g. a display screen, a printer, a wirelessradio, and the like) depending on the nature of the device.

It should also be noted that there may be some elements that are used toimplement at least part of one of the embodiments described herein thatmay be implemented via software that is written in a high-level computerprogramming language such as object oriented programming. Accordingly,the program code may be written in C, C⁺⁺ or any other suitableprogramming language and may comprise modules or classes, as is known tothose skilled in object oriented programming. Alternatively, or inaddition thereto, some of these elements implemented via software may bewritten in assembly language, machine language or firmware as needed. Ineither case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.

At least some of these software programs may be stored on a storagemedia (e.g. a computer readable medium such as, but not limited to, ROM,magnetic disk, optical disc) or a device that is readable by a generalor special purpose programmable device. The software program code, whenread by the programmable device, configures the programmable device tooperate in a new, specific and predefined manner in order to perform atleast one of the methods described herein.

Furthermore, at least some of the programs associated with the systemsand methods of the embodiments described herein may be capable of beingdistributed in a computer program product comprising a computer readablemedium that bears computer usable instructions for one or moreprocessors. The medium may be provided in various forms, includingnon-transitory forms such as, but not limited to, one or more diskettes,compact disks, tapes, chips, and magnetic and electronic storage. Inalternative embodiments, the medium may be transitory in nature such as,but not limited to, wire-line transmissions, satellite transmissions,internet transmissions (e.g. downloads), media, digital and analogsignals, and the like. The computer useable instructions may also be invarious formats, including compiled and non-compiled code.

Electromyography (EMG) measures electromyographic signals, which areelectrical signals associated with muscle contractions. There aregenerally two methods for acquiring EMG signals. The first method may bereferred to as needle electromyography, and is an invasive method thatinvolves inserting electrical probes (needles) into target muscletissues in order to acquire the EMG signal from the muscle. While needleelectromyography has been used to measure and analyze musclecontractions and activity; this application has typically been limitedto hospital or laboratory settings.

The second method is referred to as surface electromyography (sEMG) andinvolves placing sensors at the skin surface close to target muscles.While less invasive than needle EMG, sEMG has much lower specificitythan needle EMG. Surface EMG signals result from the superposition ofthe sensed motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) from all the musclefibers within sensing distance of the acquiring electrode. The MUAPsseen in the sEMG signal may be generated by the same muscle or mayoriginate in different muscles. This can result in signal cross-talkwhere the sEMG energy from one particular muscle is sensed at anelectrode location for a different muscle.

Acquired sEMG signals may also contain other undesirable components thatare sensed along with the desired muscle activity. For instance, theundesirable components may include environmental noise (e.g. 60 Hz powerline “hum”) and/or body-produced signals such as electrical signals fromthe heart (electrocardiograph (ECG) signals).

Surface EMG may also be susceptible to “motion artifact” noise whichresults from the relative motion of the sEMG electrode and the muscletissue. Motion artifact noise can result from muscle fibres movingunderneath the surface of the skin relative to a fixed sensor positionduring a dynamic contraction (e.g. Bicep curl). This type of motionartifact is independent of the sensor used because the muscle alwaysmoves underneath the skin.

Motion artifacts may also occur where electrodes are positioned at thesurface of the skin and can shift position relative to the muscles beingtargeted due to the skin's pliability. The “motion artifact” effect maybe more pronounced when using electrodes embedded in a wearable device(such as textile electrodes or conductive polymers) as compared withsensors adhered to the surface of the skin. This may affect the signalcontribution from target muscles as well as undesirable signalcomponents acquired from nearby non-targeted muscles. In some cases, the“motion artifact” noise may appear as a low frequency component of thedesired sEMG signal, while in other cases it may partially overlapsignal components that include the desired frequency content of the sEMGsignal. Examples of signal processing methods described in accordancewith the teachings herein can be applied to remove the unwantedinterference from acquired sEMG signals. Using compressive garments mayalso mitigate some of the motion artifact noise by reducing the motionof the electrodes in the garment relative to the targeted muscles.

Wearable devices and systems incorporating wearable devices haverecently been developed for a variety of purposes. Wearable devices canbe used for controlling and interacting with multimedia and otherelectronic devices, as well as for fitness and athletic applications.Described herein are example embodiments of wearable devices, systemsincorporating one or more wearable devices, and methods for activityrecognition and analysis. The systems, methods and devices describedherein can be applied for fitness and athletic applications such asmonitoring and analyzing performance, and avoiding injury.

The systems, methods and devices described herein can acquire aplurality of electrical signals, for example, from an accelerometer, andanalyze those signals to recognize an exercise activity being performedby a user. In some cases, sEMG signals may also be analyzed inconjunction with the identified exercise activity to providephysiological insights to users. In addition to EMG signals, otherelectrical signals such as skin impedance signals and bio-impedancesignals may be acquired. A user's biometric features, as well as othermetrics, may be monitored and stored during physical activity and atother times. The biometric features and other metrics may be provided asreal-time feedback to a user and/or tracked over time to monitor andillustrate a user's progress.

A user's body impedance provides a measure of how well the user's bodyimpedes the flow of electric current. A user's body impedance can beseparated into the impedance of the user skin surface, referred to asskin impedance, and the impedance of the user's body below the skinsurface, referred to as bio-impedance. EMG signals acquired from auser's skin surface will be affected by the skin impedance.

A user's skin impedance generally depends on the condition of thesurface of the user's skin. As a result, the user's skin impedance canchange as the user performs an activity, for example when the userperspires. In general, a user's skin impedance will be lower when theskin surface is wet than when the skin surface is dry.

Bio-impedance can be affected by a user's body composition, as differenttissue types tend to have different levels of resistivity. For example,fat tissue has high resistivity, while tissues with high water contentwill tend to have low resistivity. A user's bio-impedance can alsofluctuate as the user performs an activity, for example due to changesin the user's hydration level, which can affect the user'sintra-cellular and extra-cellular water content.

The various biometric features and metrics determined for a user may beanalyzed to identify trends and alert users to those trends. This mayenable users to adjust the activities they are performing, or how theyare performing activities in response to the trends. For instance, thesignal amplitude and frequency content of acquired EMG signals may beanalyzed over time to identify muscle growth or muscle efficiencytrends. Similarly, muscle coordination (the sequence in which anindividual's muscles are operating) may be analyzed to providerecommendations to improve individual performance. Muscle balance(cross-body) may be tracked and recommendations may be provided to usersto adjust their training if muscles appear to be unbalanced. The variousbiometric features and metrics may also be analyzed to identify aninjury risk trend, provide feedback to a user indicating a potentialrisk of injury, and provide recommendations to avoid the potential riskof injury.

Muscle fatigue may be tracked and a fatigue alert may be provided to theuser when a fatigue trend is identified. A fatigue alert may be used toprevent overtraining. In some embodiments, fatigue may be determined bymeasuring decreases in mean and median frequencies of EMG signals. Forexample, this may be done using machine learning algorithms pre-trainedon a plurality of collected EMG signals.

Similarly, hydration may be tracked to provide feedback to a user todrink water or other fluids when their body exhibits signs of lowhydration. Lactate levels may also be monitored to provide feedback to auser, and may provide a recommendation of reducing activity intensitywhen lactate levels are identified above a particular threshold.

Referring now to FIG. 1, shown therein is block diagram illustrating anexample embodiment of a system 100 for biometric analysis. System 100includes a wearable device 102, one or more remote processing devices108 and a remote cloud server 110. In other embodiments, systems forbiometric analysis in accordance with the teachings herein may notrequire any remote processing devices 108 or remote cloud server 110. Insuch embodiments, the processing of the bio-signals acquired from a usermay be performed by electronic components included in wearable device102.

Wearable device 102 can be removeably securable to a user skin surfacewith a skin-facing surface of the wearable device positioned to makecontact with the skin surface. Wearable device 102 can generally bemanufactured of a fabric, cloth or polymer material suitable for beingworn in contact with a user's skin. A portion, or all, of the wearabledevice 102 can be made of breathable materials to increase comfort whilea user is performing an activity.

In some embodiments, the wearable device 102 may be formed into agarment or form of apparel such as a band, shirts, shorts, and sleevesfor example. In some cases, wearable device 102 may be a compressiongarment manufactured from a material that is compressive. A compressiongarment may minimize the impact from “motion artifacts” by reducing therelative movement of the wearable device 102 with respect to a targetmuscle. In some cases, wearable device 102 may also include anti-slipcomponents on the skin-facing surface. For example, a silicone grip maybe provided on the skin-facing surface of the wearable device 102 tofurther reduce the potential for motion artifacts. In some cases, theweave of a compression garment textile can be optimized to minimizemotion artifacts by reducing motion in preferred directions of thetextile weave. For example, additional compression (in addition to thecompression elsewhere in the garment) can be added to a compressiongarment in locations having electrodes.

In some embodiments, wearable device 102 includes a plurality ofelectrodes 106 a-106 n positioned to acquire an electrical signal fromthe user's skin surface. In some embodiments, the electrodes 106 can beintegrated into the material of the wearable device 102. Alternatively,the electrodes 106 can be affixed or attached to the wearable device102, e.g., printed, glued, laminated or ironed onto the skin-facingsurface. In some cases, the electrodes 106 may be provided separatelyfrom the wearable device 102 as an iron-on component that a user canthen apply to the wearable device 102. Various other methods of affixingthe electrodes 106 to the wearable device 102 may also be used.

Wearable device 102 may also be provided without electrodes 106 a to 106n. In such embodiments, wearable device 102 may omit the acquisition andanalysis of electromyography and other bio-signals, and may insteadprovide movement data. In some embodiments, the compression garment mayalso be omitted, and wearable device 102 may instead be provided as asmall module that can be fastened, e.g., to a user's clothing using aclip, a hook and loop fastener, adhesive, or the like.

Various different electrodes 106 may be used with wearable device 102.For example, the electrodes 106 may be metallic, conductive polymers,conductive inks, or conductive textiles for example.

Wearable device 102 also includes an electronics module 104 coupled tothe plurality of electrodes 106. Generally, the electronics module 104can include a power supply, a controller, a memory, a signal acquisitionunit operatively coupled to the controller and to the plurality ofelectrodes 106, and a wireless communication module operatively coupledto the controller. The signal acquisition unit may include a skinimpedance acquisition module and an electromyography acquisition module.In some cases, the signal acquisition unit may also include abio-impedance acquisition module and/or an analog-to-digital converter.Example embodiments of the wearable device 102 will be described infurther detail below, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

The electronics module 104 of the wearable device 102 can becommunicatively coupled to one or more remote processing devices 108a-108 n, e.g., using a wireless communication module (e.g., Bluetooth,IEEE 802.11, etc.). The remote processing devices 108 can be any type ofprocessing device such as a personal computer, a tablet, and a mobiledevice such as a smartphone or a smartwatch for example. The electronicsmodules 104 can also be communicatively coupled to the cloud server 110over, for example, a wide area network such as the Internet.

Each remote processing device 108 and remote cloud server 110 caninclude a processing unit, a display, a user interface, an interfaceunit for communicating with other devices, Input/Output (I/O) hardware,a wireless unit (e.g. a radio that communicates using CDMA, GSM, GPRS orBluetooth protocol according to standards such as IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b,802.11g, or 802.11n), a power unit and a memory unit. The memory unitcan include RAM, ROM, one or more hard drives, one or more flash drivesor some other suitable data storage elements such as disk drives, etc.

The processing unit controls the operation of the remote processingdevice 108 or the remote cloud server 110 and can be any suitableprocessor, controller or digital signal processor that can providesufficient processing power processor depending on the desiredconfiguration, purposes and requirements of the system 100.

The display can be any suitable display that provides visualinformation. For instance, the display can be a cathode ray tube, aflat-screen monitor and the like if the remote processing device 108 orremote cloud server 110 is a desktop computer. In other cases, thedisplay can be a display suitable for a laptop, tablet or handhelddevice such as an LCD-based display and the like.

System 100 can generally be used for tracking biometric features,identifying activity, and measuring other metrics for a user. Forexample, the activity, biometric features and other metrics may bemonitored, stored, and analyzed for the user. In different embodiments,aspects of the monitoring, storage and analysis of the differentbiometric features and other metrics may be performed by the wearabledevice 102, a remote processing device 108, or the cloud server 110.

The cloud server 110 may provide additional processing resources notavailable on the wearable device 102 or the remote processing device108. For example, some aspects of processing the signals acquired by theelectrodes 106 may be delegated to the cloud server 110 to conservepower resources on the wearable device 102 or remote processing device108. In some cases, the cloud server 110, wearable device 102 and remoteprocessing device 108 may communicate in real-time to provide timelyfeedback to a user regarding their current biometrics and any trendsidentified.

For example, one of the controller (on the wearable device 102) and theremote processing device 108 can be configured to capture a plurality ofelectrical signals including at least one sensor signal using theplurality of electrodes 106. The controller or the remote processingdevice 108 can generate calibration data based on a subset of theplurality of sensor signals acquired.

In some embodiments, the acquired electrical signals may include atleast one skin impedance signal. The controller or the remote processingdevice 108 can generate the calibration data based on a subset of theelectrical signals that includes the at least one skin impedance signal.Thus, the calibration data may be used to adjust the processing of theacquired electromyography signals to account for changes in skinimpedance.

In embodiments where electromyography is used, the acquired sEMG signalsmay be variable depending on skin condition, accordingly calibrating theprocessing to respond to changes in skin impedance may account forchanges in skin condition that affect the raw EMG signal acquired. Forexample, as a user begins to perspire, moisture accumulates on the skinsurface, changing the skin's effective impedance. This can affect theacquired EMG signal, or it may be used as an indication of exertion.Therefore a “skin impedance signal” can be acquired and used to identifythe skin impedance.

The skin impedance signal is a form of electrical signal that can beacquired by injecting a probe signal at a first electrode and receivinga resulting signal at a second electrode. Generally, skin impedancesignals are injected and received through neighboring or proximateelectrodes, to maximize the effect of skin impedance. The skin impedancesignal can be analyzed periodically or continuously to account for thechanges in the acquired EMG signal due to perspiration.

In some embodiments, bio-impedance signals may also be acquired bywearable device 102. Bio-impedance signals are another form of bodyimpedance, which can be affected by changes in a user's hydrationlevels, among other factors. Dehydration can cause an increase in thebody's electrical resistance, and the bio-impedance signals can be usedto analyze an individual's hydration levels.

The bio-impedance signal is a form of electrical signal that can beacquired using a tetra-polar electrode configuration. A probe signal canbe injected using a first pair of electrodes and a resulting signal canbe received at a second pair of electrodes. The bio-impedance signal canbe analyzed periodically or continuously to determine biometrics for theuser such as changes in hydration levels. In some cases, bio-impedancesignals may be injected and received through cross-body or otherwisedistant electrode pairs. This may provide a broader view of the state ofthe user's body, as compared with a localized view that may be providedif the electrode pairs are close together. Accordingly, using cross-bodyor otherwise distant electrodes may improve the accuracy of thehydration analysis.

EMG signals can be collected using a differential pair of electrodes.That is, two electrodes can be used to acquire a differential signal fora single EMG acquisition channel. Typically, EMG signal collection canbe paused while skin impedance signals and/or bio-impedance signals areacquired. The signal injection used to measure the skin impedance orbio-impedance may saturate the analog front end components of the EMGacquisition unit. Accordingly, the EMG signal collection can be pausedwhile skin impedance or bio-impedance signals are acquired to avoidinterference.

In some cases, a single set of electrodes can be used to acquire skinimpedance signals, bio-impedance signals, and EMG signals. In suchcases, the signal acquisition unit may include multiplexers (orswitching networks) that can be used to switch between the skinimpedance acquisition unit, bio-impedance acquisition unit and EMGacquisition unit. Example embodiments of signal acquisition unitsemploying multiplexers will be discussed in further detail below withreference to FIGS. 4A to 4C.

In some embodiments, system 100 may include a plurality of wearabledevices 102 that can be removeably secured to the user's skin surface.In some cases, each of the wearable devices 102 may communicate witheach other or with remote processing device 108 or cloud server 110.Using a plurality of wearable devices 102 may better facilitatecross-body or contralateral comparisons of EMG signals and otheracquired signals. This may facilitate additional biometric features tobe determined from the acquired signals.

In some cases, prior to using a wearable device 102 a user may populatea user profile. The user profile may include user demographic data suchas sex, height, weight, age, and other demographic details. In someembodiments, a user's demographic data may affect the processing used todetermine activities, biometric features or other metrics for that user.For example, determined calorie expenditure may be affected by a user'sheight and weight, while lactate levels may be affected by a user's sex.

The user profile may also track the various activities, biometricfeatures and other metrics determined for a user over time. Accordingly,a user's profile may include a historical record of one or moreactivities, biometrics or other metrics for that user.

The user profile may be stored in various locations. For example, insome embodiments a user's profile can be stored in a memory module ofthe wearable device 102 or in a remote processing device 108. A user'sprofile may also be stored in a cloud storage module on cloud server 110in some embodiments. Where user profiles are stored in multiplelocations, the various components may communicate to update features ofthe user's profile.

In some cases, different aspects of a user's profile may be stored indifferent locations due to storage limitations. For example, thewearable device 102 or remote processing device 108 may store limitedportions of a user's profile necessary for determining activities,biometric features and other metrics. Additional portions of the user'sprofile could then be stored on the remote cloud server 110 forretrieval by (and syncing with) wearable device 102 and remoteprocessing device 108.

In some cases, baseline initialization data may be generated for a userwhen they first use a wearable device 102. For example, the wearabledevice 102 or remote processing device 108 may indicate to the userbasic activities to perform in an initialization routine. Theinitialization routine may include the individual performing activitiesthat result in a maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of target muscleswith the wearable device 102 positioned to collect EMG signals fromthose muscles. The user may be instructed to perform particularactivities with maximum strength, and the acquired EMG signals can beused as a reference for analysis of subsequently acquired signals. Insome cases, muscle strength/power may be initialized through a standardcycling power meter and stored in the user profile for future reference.

The initialization process can be repeated for different target musclesand used to generate baseline physiological data. In some cases, somebaseline physiological data may be provided with the wearable device 102without requiring the user to perform a calibration routine. Thisbaseline physiological data may be pre-generated based on aggregatecalibration data from a number of other users. The baselinephysiological data also may be adjusted based on demographic dataprovided in the user's profile. Baseline physiological data can bestored in the user's profile and used to identify changes or trends inthe user's physiological state or physiological responses. In somecases, the baseline physiological data may be updated over time toaccount for changes in the user's physiology, as detected by system 100.

In some cases, the remote cloud server 110 may store a unique userprofile for each user in a plurality of users. Each unique user profilemay be associated with one or more wearable devices 102 used by thecorresponding user. In some cases, the unique user profile may beassociated with a particular remote processing 108 used by a user. Theremote cloud server 110 may provide an interactive community for varioususers of the wearable devices 102 to compare activities, biometricfeatures and other features determined by wearable devices 102.

The remote cloud server 110 may also enable longer term trends orpatterns to be identified for a user or a collective of users. Forexample, remote cloud server 110 may analyze activity or biometric dataacquired from a particular user over a period of time (e.g., severaldays, weeks, months or even years) to identify a pattern indicative ofpotential injury or existing injuries. The remote cloud server 110 maythen provide an alert to remote processing device 108 or wearable device102 associated with that user alerting them to the identified trend.Monitoring and tracking various biometrics and metrics for a user overtime can also be used to monitor rehabilitation progress and/or tomonitor performance improvements over time. For example, trends can beused to ascertain training goals leading up to a set date, such as acompetition date. This trend data can be used to facilitate the athlete“peaking” at the competition date.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, shown therein is an exploded view of anexample embodiment of a wearable device 200, which may be an embodimentof wearable device 102. Wearable device 200 is an example of a band-typewearable device that can be worn at various positions on a user's body,as shown in FIG. 2B.

As shown, wearable device 200 is manufactured of an elastic orcompressive material, such as neoprene, elastane or the like, with aplurality of electrodes interwoven into the material 202 of the wearabledevice. For example, the electrodes may be manufactured of conductivefabrics, to maintain the flexibility of wearable device 200. In oneexample embodiment, the material 202 may be an elastane polyester blendand the electrodes may be manufactured of conductive nylon.

However, in other embodiments, wearable device 200 may be manufacturedof non-compressive material, or without interwoven electrodes. Forexample, electrodes may be fastened on the interior surface of wearabledevice 200 using a suitable adhesive, stitching or other fastener. Insome cases, the electrodes can be secured in wearable device 200 byovermolding.

The electrodes may be located in specific regions of the wearable device200 so as to be positioned proximate to target muscles. For example,where wearable device 200 is a thigh band, a set of electrodes may bepositioned to overlie the vastus lateralis (VL) muscle of thequadriceps. In some cases, another set of electrodes may be positionedto overlie muscles of the hamstring. In other embodiments where wearabledevice 200 is intended to be worn over another limb, or another portionof a limb, electrodes may be positioned differently to overlie musclesof interest. In some cases, the electrodes can be configured to acquirean aggregate signal from a group of targeted muscles.

To ensure that a user has the wearable device 200 in a proper positionfor the embedded electrodes, wearable device 200 may also include analignment guide to indicate the optimal orientation of the wearabledevice 200 when being worn. In some cases, the electrical signalsreceived using the electrodes in the wearable device 200 may be comparedto stored alignment data. Based on this comparison, an alert may beprovided to the user to adjust the wearable device 200 for optimalsensor placement. In some cases, the stored alignment data may bedependent on the particular activity being performed by the user.

For example, the acquired electrical signals can be monitored for anexpected sequence of muscle activations for a known movement associatedwith the activity. The acquired electrical signals can be compared withstored alignment data to identify any discrepancies in a received musclecoordination pattern. Based on the detection of a discrepancy, it can bedetermined that the sensors are not located in the optimal locations. Insome cases, the amplitude of the acquired electrical signals can beanalyzed. If the amplitude is below a predetermined amplitude threshold,it can be determined that the sensors are not proximal to the targetmuscle(s). In some cases, the frequency content of the receivedelectrical signals can be analyzed to determine if motion artifactsignal components are outside expected values. If so, this may indicatethat the wearable device 200 is not being worn correctly.

In some cases, the alignment data can be generated by a user performinga baseline initialization routine. For example, the system 100 (e.g.wearable device 102 or remote processing device 108) may indicate to theuser a sequence of actions that require the user to contract one or moremuscles in a particular manner. The electrical signals acquired whilethe user performs the sequence of actions can be used to generate thealignment data. The alignment data can then be stored in the userprofile on the wearable device 102, remote processing device 108 orremote cloud server 110. In some cases, the predetermined amplitudethreshold can be determined based on the electrical signals acquiredduring the training routine and be stored as part of the alignment data.

In some cases, the plurality of electrodes in the wearable device 200may include a greater number of electrodes than needed. This can be doneto provide an even distribution of electrodes throughout the wearabledevice 200 to minimize the potential for misalignment. In such cases,the signals received from the plurality of electrodes can be comparedwith stored alignment data, and a subset of electrodes having desiredsignal components can be identified for use, based on the comparison.

Conductive wires 206 are coupled to the electrodes to convey theacquired signals to circuit board 204. In some cases, the conductivewires 206 may be conductive textile threads. The conductive wires 206may be gold-plated to improve conductivity. Circuit board 204 containsthe various electronic components of wearable device 200 such as asignal acquisition unit and controller. Electronic components ofwearable device 200 will be described in further detail below withregard to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The wearable device 200 also includes a battery 208 to power the circuitboard 204. In some cases, one or more user inputs 210 may be provided toallow a user to activate/deactivate the wearable device 200 or adjustparameters of the wearable device. For example, the user input 210 maybe a push button or capacitive sensor that can be used to activate thewearable device 200.

One or more status indicators, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), ora display, may be provided on outer cover 220 to indicate the status ofwearable device 200 to the user. In some cases, a display integratedinto outer cover 220 may also provide additional feedback to a user thatmay include biometrics or other metrics determined according to theteachings described herein. The wearable device 200 may also includehaptic feedback modules to provide haptic feedback to a user regardingthe status of the wearable device 200 or alerts regarding the biometricsor other metrics determined for that user.

The various electronic components of the wearable device 200, such as acontroller, communication unit and accelerometer, can be containedwithin a waterproof casing. The waterproof casing can be provided bywater-tight casing 216, outer cover 220 and an O-ring 218 between thewater-tight casing 216 and the outer cover 220. The waterproof casingcan prevent malfunctioning of the electronic components of the wearabledevice 200 by preventing liquids such as sweat or rain water from cominginto contact with the circuit board 204. This may also allow thewearable device 200 to be cleaned after use to improve hygiene. In somecases, the electronic components in the water-tight casing can beremoved from wearable device 200 to ensure that they are not damagedwhen wearable device 200 is cleaned.

In some embodiments, wearable device 200 may omit the sleeve, and becontained within water-tight casing 216. In such embodiments,water-tight casing 216 may be provided with a fastener for attachment toa user's body or clothing. For example, the fastener may be a clip, anadhesive strip, part of a hook and loop closure, or the like.

Wearable device 200 may also include an electronics module seat 214. Theseat 214 can be used to join the electronic components of the wearabledevice to the materials to be worn on the user's skin surface. The seat214 may be a rubberized ring to minimize the rigidity felt by a user.This may minimize the discomfort felt by a user, and reduce potentialinterference with normal range of motion. In some cases, the electroniccomponents of the wearable device may be environmentally sealed andjoined to the material 202 of the wearable device 200 using an overmoldprocess. This may also provide a waterproof casing for the electroniccomponents of wearable device 200.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, shown therein is a diagram 250 illustratingsome examples of locations where a wearable device 260, such as wearabledevice 200, may be removeably secured to a user's skin surface. In theexample shown in FIG. 2B, wearable devices 260 are shown attached to theuser skin surface at the upper arm, lower arm, waist, thigh and lowerleg. A skilled person will appreciate that other suitable placements mayalso be selected for a wearable device 260.

In some cases, the particular placement of a wearable device 260 may bedetermined based on a particular activity being undertaken by anindividual. In some cases, an individual may select a particularplacement based on nearby muscle groups the individual wishes to track.For example, a user may select the thigh or lower leg when targetingdifferent muscles in the legs, and the lower or upper arm whenperforming activities that target the muscles of the arms.

In some cases, an individual may select a particular placement for awearable device 260 because it is close to or distant from large musclegroups. For example, a user may select a hip bone as a placement for awearable device as that region does not have high intensity muscleactivity in its immediate vicinity. In some cases, one or moreelectrodes in a wearable device 260 may be used as reference electrodesthat are not intended to capture EMG signals. For example, a referenceelectrode may be placed on the user's hip bone, at a location distantfrom most muscle activity, thereby minimizing the contribution of EMGsignals to the electrical signals acquired by the reference electrode.

In some cases, the particular placement of a wearable device 260 may bedependent on the size or shape of that particular wearable device. Forexample, a wearable device 260 that can be placed around a user's waistmay be different from a wearable device 260 that can be placed around auser's calf or forearm.

Referring now to FIG. 3, shown therein is a block diagram of an exampleembodiment of a wearable device 300. Wearable device 300 is an exampleembodiment of a wearable device 102, 200 or 260 that can be used inactivity tracking system 100. In various embodiments, wearable device300 can include additional components not shown in FIG. 3, such as abattery module, an input module or user interface.

In some embodiments, wearable device 300 includes a plurality ofelectrodes 306A-306N. The plurality of electrodes 306 are positioned inwearable device 300 to acquire an electrical signal from a user's skinsurface when wearable device 300 is secured to the user's skin surface.For example, the electrodes 306 may be exposed on the skin-facing sideof the wearable device 300 such that they are in contact with the userskin surface when the wearable device 300 is secured to the user skinsurface. In some embodiments, some or all of the electrodes 306 may becapacitively coupled to the user skin surface, in which case they maynot make electrical contact with the skin surface (e.g., due to aninsulating coating).

In some embodiments, the electrodes 306 may be passive electrodes. Inother embodiments, some or all of the electrodes 306 may be activesensors or electrodes, which contain active electronics that may requirepower to operate. Examples of active electronics include front-endamplifiers or filters. Given the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) oftenfound with sEMG signals, active sensors may be used to increasefront-end gain and reject common-mode noise. This can increase SNR ofthe acquired electrical signals before further processing.

Passive electrodes may be preferred in some applications due to thelow-energy associated with their use. This can prolong the battery lifeof wearable device 300 thereby improving its utility for tracking auser's activity over prolonged periods. Passive electrodes may also bemore easily integrated in garments.

In some embodiments, electrodes may be omitted.

In some embodiments, wearable device 300 can incorporate a compressiongarment or compressible garment. A compression garment can be used toreduce the relative movement between the location of the electrodes 306and muscles being targeted. This can minimize the effect of motionartifacts on the EMG signals acquired. In other embodiments, thecompression or compressible garment may be omitted.

In some embodiments, wearable device 300 also includes signalacquisition unit 302. Signal acquisition unit 302 can be used to receiveand process, or pre-process, the signals acquired using electrodes 306.In other embodiments, for example when electrodes are not provided,signal acquisition unit 302 may be omitted.

Signal acquisition unit 302 can include an EMG acquisition module 310, askin impedance acquisition module 312, a bio-impedance acquisitionmodule 314 and an analog-to-digital converter 316 (A/D converter). Insome embodiments, analog-to-digital converter 316 can be implementedusing a high resolution, high dynamic range A/D converter. For example,the analog-to-digital converter 316 may sample the electrical signalsacquired by electrodes 306 at, for example, 500 to 8000 samples persecond and convert the signals to discrete time series data signals.

In some cases, one or more of EMG acquisition module 310, skin impedanceacquisition module 312, bio-impedance acquisition module 314 may amplifythe analog signal (to increase SNR) before providing the analog signalto A/D 316. In some cases, EMG acquisition module 310, skin impedanceacquisition module 312, bio-impedance acquisition module 314 may provideunfiltered signals to analog-to-digital converter 316. Exampleembodiments of signal acquisition unit 302 will be described in furtherdetail below with reference to FIG. 4.

Signal acquisition unit 302 may be configured to acquire a plurality ofanalog electrical signals using the plurality of electrodes 306 and toconvert the acquired electrical signals in unfiltered form to digitalsignals using analog-to-digital converter 316. For example, A/Dconverter 316 may sample a continuous time analog EMG signal or otherelectrical signal and convert them to discrete time samples digitalsignals. This may provide a high quality digital signal with high levelsof both undesirable signal components (e.g., noise) and EMG signals ofinterest (or skin impedance signal or bio-impedance signals). Variousdigital signal processing techniques can then be used to extract thedesired signal components for analysis in determining biometric featuresand other metrics.

In some embodiments, signal acquisition unit 302 may not require A/Dconverter 316. For example, where controller 304 has a built-in A/Dconverter, A/D converter 316 may not be necessary. In such cases, theEMG acquisition module 310, skin impedance acquisition module 312, andbio-impedance acquisition module 314 may be coupled directly tocontroller 304.

Signal acquisition unit 302 is operatively coupled to controller 304.Controller 304 can be configured to control the signal acquisition unit302 and to acquire a plurality of electrical signals using the pluralityof electrodes 306. In some embodiments, controller 304 may also beconfigured to process the acquired electrical signals to determine atleast one biometric feature or other metric. Controller 304 may be, forexample, a microcontroller or a microprocessor, such as an ARM-basedprocessor.

Controller 304 may be operatively coupled to memory module 318. In somecases, memory module 318 may include volatile and/or non-volatilememory. Non-volatile memory can be used to store program data, such asexecutable instructions, and signal data such as raw and/or processedelectrical signal data (e.g. EMG data, skin impedance data,bio-impedance data), motion sensor data, calibration data, andoperational parameters for example. Similarly, volatile memory may beused to store program data and signal data on a temporary basis.

Controller 304 may also be operatively coupled to a communication module308. Communication module 308 may be a wireless communication moduleused to communication with remote processing device 108 or cloud server110. In some cases, controller 304 may communicate the unprocesseddigital signals received from analog-to-digital converter 316 to remoteprocessing device 108 for further processing. For example, communicationmodule 308 may communicate with remote processing device 108 usingvarious communication protocols such as Bluetooth™ Low-Energy (BTLE),ANT+ or IEEE 802.11 (WiFi™).

Communication module 308 may also include other interfaces forcommunicating with remote processing devices 108 and cloud server 110.For example, communication module 308 may include ports for wiredconnections such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) or other port. In somecases, wearable device may also include removable storage modules suchas an SD card for transferring acquired data to a remote processingdevice 108.

Controller 304 can operate as an interface between the signalacquisition unit and the processing of the acquired signals. In somecases, controller 304 may process the acquired signals itself inreal-time or near real-time. In some cases, controller 304 may store theunprocessed signals or transmit processed or unprocessed signals to aremote processing device 108 or cloud server 110 for analysis usingcommunication module 308.

Controller 304 can be coupled to additional sensor module 320. Motionsensor module 320 may include one or more motion sensors used to acquiredata regarding an activity being undertaken. In wearable device 300 asshown, the motion sensor module 320 includes an inertial measurementunit (IMU) 322 and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) unit 324,however other sensors may also be used.

IMU 322 can include one or more sensors for measuring the positionand/or motion of the wearable device. For example, IMU 322 may includesensors such as a gyroscope, accelerometer (e.g., a three-axisaccelerometer), magnetometer, orientation sensors (for measuringorientation and/or changes in orientation), angular velocity sensors, orinclination sensors. Generally, IMU 322 includes at least anaccelerometer.

GNSS unit 324 may also include one or more sensors or devices used todetermine the GNSS coordinates of the wearable device using one or moreGNSS system, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo,GLONASS, or the like. GNSS coordinates can be used to track a user'smovement or determine location, and supplement the motion data from IMU322 and the analysis performed by controller 304. GNSS coordinates canalso be provided to cloud server 110 to facilitate comparisons orcommunication with other users in close proximity. GNSS coordinates canalso be used to determine various metrics related to the user activity,such as weather and other atmospheric information.

Wearable device 300 may also include an output module 330 coupled tocontroller 304. Output module 330 may include one or more output orfeedback devices that can provide a user of wearable device 300 withinformation regarding the status of wearable device 300 as well asfeedback on the user's biometrics and other metrics. For example, outputmodule 330 may include one or more status indicators such as an LED,light, or a haptic feedback module. Output module 330 may also include adisplay such as an OLED or LSC display for providing feedback andindications of status to the user.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, shown therein is a block diagram 400illustrating components in an example embodiment of a signal acquisitionsub-unit 402, which may be used in an embodiment of signal acquisitionunit 302.

Signal acquisition sub-unit 402 illustrates how multiplexers can be usedto allow skin impedance signals, bio-impedance signals, and EMG signalsto be acquired using the same electrodes. In some cases, a signalacquisition unit may include two signal acquisition sub-units such assignal acquisition sub-unit 402, each coupled to a separate electrodepair. In some cases, each signal acquisition sub-unit may have aseparate A/D converter, while in other embodiments a single A/Dconverter can be used to convert the electrical signals acquired by eachsignal acquisition sub-unit. Another example embodiment of a signalacquisition unit employing multiplexers will be described with referenceto FIG. 4B.

Signal acquisition sub-unit 402 is coupled to an electrode pair 406 anda controller 404. As shown in block diagram 400, the signal acquisitionunit 402 includes a primary multiplexer 420 and the signal acquisitionunit 402 is coupled to electrode pair 406 by primary multiplexer 430.Signal acquisition sub-unit 402 also includes EMG acquisition module410, skin impedance acquisition module 412, bio-impedance acquisitionmodule 414 and A/D converter 416. The EMG acquisition module 410 iscoupled directly to the primary multiplexer 430.

Signal acquisition sub-unit 402 further includes a secondary multiplexer432. Each of the skin impedance acquisition module 412 and thebio-impedance acquisition module 414 is coupled to the primarymultiplexer 430 by the secondary multiplexer 432. The primarymultiplexer 430 and secondary multiplexer 432 can be used to switch theacquisition units that are currently sampling the electrodes ofelectrode pair 406. This can enable the same electrodes to be used bythe EMG acquisition module 410, skin impedance acquisition module 412,and bio-impedance acquisition module 414.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, shown therein is block diagram 450 showingcomponents in an example embodiment of a signal acquisition unit 452,which may be an embodiment of signal acquisition unit 302. In theexample shown in block diagram 450, signal acquisition unit 452 iscoupled to 4 electrodes 406A, 406B, 406C and 406D. When a wearabledevice is secured to a user skin surface, the electrodes 406 can bepositioned to acquire electrical signals from the skin surface.

As shown in block diagram 450, the electrodes may be configured as afirst electrode pair 406A and 406B, and a second electrode pair 406C and4060. Each electrode pair is coupled to a primary switch network 480(i.e. multiplexer) of the signal acquisition unit 452. The primaryswitch networks 480A and 480B may be referred to as a primarymultiplexer module. The primary multiplexer module can be used to switchbetween an EMG signal acquisition mode where EMG signals are collectedand an impedance signal acquisition modes where impedance signals (i.e.skin impedance or bio-impedance) are collected.

As mentioned above, EMG signals can be acquired using a pair ofelectrodes to collect a differential signal. Accordingly, signalacquisition unit 452 includes a first EMG acquisition module 410Acoupled to a first pair of electrodes (406A and 406B) by primary switchnetwork 480A, and a second EMG acquisition module 410B coupled to asecond pair of electrodes (406C and 406D) by primary switch network480B. Accordingly, signal acquisition unit 452 may be used to collectEMG signals using the first electrode pair or the second electrode pair.

Signal acquisition unit 452 also includes secondary switch networks 482Aand 482B. The secondary switch networks 482A and 482B may be referred toas a secondary multiplexer module. The secondary multiplexer module canbe used to switch between a skin impedance acquisition mode and abio-impedance acquisition mode, using the same set of electrodes 406.

The controller (not shown) can transmit multiplexer controller signalsto the primary multiplexer module and the secondary multiplexer moduleto switch the signal type being sampled. The primary multiplexer modulecan be used to switch between acquiring an EMG signal using EMGacquisition module 410 and one of a skin impedance signal and abio-impedance signal depending on the state of the secondary multiplexermodule. Secondary multiplexer module can be used to switch betweenacquiring a skin impedance signal using skin impedance acquisitionmodule 412 and a bio-impedance signal using bio-impedance acquisitionmodule 414.

When signal acquisition unit 452 operates in a skin impedanceacquisition mode, a signal can be injected using a first electrode ofone of the electrode pairs (e.g. electrode 406A) and then acorresponding skin impedance signal can be received using a secondelectrode of the electrode pair (e.g. electrode 406B). The injected andreceived signals can be compared to determine the user skin impedance.When signal acquisition unit 452 operates in a bio-impedance acquisitionmode, a signal can be injected using the first electrode pair and then acorresponding bio-impedance signal can be received using the secondelectrode pair. The injected and received signals can then be comparedto determine the user bio-impedance

In some cases, the skin impedance acquisition module 412 andbio-impedance acquisition module 414 may be provided in a combinedimpedance module 460. The impedance module 460 may be provided asmulti-channel signal injection and sensing module (as is shown in FIG.4B). In alternate embodiments, the impedance module 460 may be asingle-channel signal injection and sensing module, in which case thesecondary multiplexer module may include an additional cascade ofmultiplexers.

In the signal acquisition unit 452, A/D converter 416 can switch betweenthe input channels from the EMG acquisition module 410, skin impedanceacquisition module 412, and bio-impedance acquisition module 414 andprovide the corresponding digital signals to the controller.

In some embodiments. A/D converter 416 may have sufficient input andoutput channels to process multiple signals in parallel. In some cases,multiple A/D converters can be used in parallel to increase the numberof channels that can be digitized at the same time or to increase theeffective sampling rate.

Referring now to FIG. 4C, shown therein is a block diagram 490illustrating components of an example multiplexer configuration that canbe used in an example embodiment of a signal acquisition unit to reducethe number of input channels of the A/D converter 416. In block diagram490, various components of the signal acquisition unit, such as the skinimpedance, bio-impedance and EMG acquisition modules have been excludedfor ease of understanding.

Block diagram 490 illustrates an alternate configuration of a signalacquisition unit where one or more multiplexers 492 can be used tocouple a plurality of N electrodes 406 to an A/D converter having Mchannels, where M is less than N. This can reduce the cost of the A/Dconverter used to produce a wearable device such as wearable device 300.

The controller 404 and signal acquisition unit (the details of which arenot shown in FIG. 4C for clarity) can be configured to oversample theelectrical signals acquired by the plurality of electrodes 406 toaccommodate multiplexing performed by multiplexer 492. Where a wearabledevice includes N electrodes 406 and the A/D converter 416 has M inputchannels, a sampling rate (f_(sampling)) determined using equation (1)can be used to sample the electrical signals acquired by electrodes 406(using acquisition frequency f_(acquisition)).

$\begin{matrix}{f_{sampling} \geq {2( \frac{N}{M} )f_{acquisition}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

For example, if an acquisition frequency of 1 kHz is specified toacquire electrical signals using four electrodes 406 (i.e. N=4), and theA/D converter 416 has a single input channel (i.e. M=1) the controller404 and signal acquisition unit may be configured to sample theelectrical signals acquired by the electrodes at eight times theacquisition frequency (i.e., 8 kHz).

Referring now to FIG. 5, shown therein is a process flow 500,illustrating various biometric acquisition and processing steps that maybe performed using the described embodiments, such as wearable device300 or system 100. Flow 500 may be performed using embodiments in whichelectrodes and a signal acquisition unit are provided.

At 510, one or more raw analog electrical signal is acquired from one ormore electrodes. Generally, a plurality of electrical signals will beacquired in this fashion. Each signal can be acquired using one of aplurality of electrodes such as electrodes 106, 306 and 406. In somecases, each electrical signal may be amplified before being provided toan A/D converter. In other cases, each acquired electrical signal may beprovided directly to the A/D converter.

At 520, each acquired analog signal is converted to a digital signal.For example, an A/D converter such as A/D converters 316 and 416 can beused to sample and convert each analog signal to respective discretetime digital signals.

At 530, various digital signal processing techniques can be used tofilter undesired components from each digital signal. For example,traditional digital signal processing techniques in either the time orfrequency domain can be used to filter unwanted noise such as power linehum, motion artifacts, radio frequency etc. Examples of time domainprocessing techniques that may be used at 530 includes digital filterssuch as finite impulse response (FIR), infinite impulse response (IIR)and moving average (MA) filters.

In some cases, the acquired EMG signals may be filtered to excludefrequency content outside of a frequency range associated with EMGsignals. For example, the acquired EMG signals may be filtered using aband-pass filter tuned to pass a predetermined frequency rangeassociated with EMG signals. In some cases, the predetermined frequencyrange may include frequencies between 30 Hz and 180 Hz.

At 540, each processed signal can be analyzed to classify the signal andextract signal components of interest and to identify biometric featuresand other features of an activity being tracked. In some cases, one ormore of the processed electrical signals may be combined with motionsensor signals from motion sensors such as IMU 322 and GNSS 324 forexample. Analysis of the various received signals can be used todetermine biometric features and other metrics for the user.

Additional signal information such as motion or position information(e.g., acquired from the IMU or GNSS unit) and other electrical signalssuch as skin impedance signals and bio-impedance signals can be analyzedalong with the acquired EMG signals to determine biometrics and othermetrics for a user. In some embodiments, data from the EMG signal andsecondary signals can be assessed together. Alternatively, in someembodiments, data from the EMG signal and secondary signals can beassessed separately. Optionally, analysis of the EMG and secondarysources can be conducted concurrently or consequently. In embodimentswhere the analysis is conducted consequently, results from the analysisof the first parameter can inform the analysis of the second parameter.

For example, a processed EMG signal may be analyzed in conjunction withanalysis of other signals such as a skin impedance signal and/or abio-impedance signal. The skin impedance signal can be used to generatecalibration data that can be used when analyzing the processed EMGsignal. The calibration data may allow the analysis to account forchanges in the user's physiology that are not apparent from the EMGsignal alone.

Examples of biometric features may include muscle intensity, musclecoordination, muscle ratio, muscle balance, muscle fatigue, activityintensity, lactate, hydration, muscle efficiency, heart rate,respiratory rate, blood pressure, and breathing volume among others.Examples of other metrics for a user may include location, weather time,distance, calories, Vo2 max, body temperature, glucose levels,acceleration, speed, cadence, activity, pedal position, mechanicalpower, seat height, inclination, wind velocity, ambient temperature,humidity, air pressure, altitude among others. In some cases, theparticular activity being performed by the user can also be identifiedbased on the acquired signals being analyzed.

When multiple muscles are monitored, especially from opposite sides ofthe body, a comparison between electrical signals received from sensorsnear identical muscles (on opposite sides of the body) may be used todetect a possible muscle imbalance in one of the muscles. This can bedone by comparing the temporal length and intensities of the receivedEMG signals for those muscles, in combination with sensor signalsrelated to motion and/or position.

For example, to monitor muscle balance while a user is running, a pairof wearable devices 102 may be used. Each device may be positioned onthe upper thigh of each user's leg with the plurality of electrodespositioned to acquire an EMG signal from the vastus lateralis (VL)muscle of the quadricep complex on both legs. The amplitude of the EMGsignals may be assessed in combination with motion signals from the IMUSin each wearable device to determine whether the user's running strideis balanced. Muscle imbalance may be indicative of improper form or animpending injury. Various other features could be extracted from EMGsignals to give users valuable feedback on other biometrics.

In various embodiments, the digital signal processing performed at 530and the feature extraction and classification performed at 540 can beperformed by various components of activity tracking system 100. Forexample, in some embodiments, the digital signal generated at 520 may beprovided directly to remote processing device 108 or a cloud server 110without any digital processing being performed by wearable device 102.

In different embodiments, the signals may be processed at 530 by eitherremote processing devices 108 or cloud server 110. Similarly, thefeature extraction and classification preformed at 540 can also beperformed by the remote processing device 108 or the cloud server 110.In some cases, cloud server 110 may perform feature analysis in additionto feature analysis performed by a remote processing device 108, forexample to identify longer term trends for a user.

In some embodiments, the controller of the wearable device 102 canperform the signal processing at 530. In some cases, the wearable device102 can then provide the processed signal data to a remote processingdevice 108 or cloud server 110. In other cases, the controller may alsoperform some or all of the feature extraction and classification at 540.In embodiments where multiple wearable devices are used to assessbiometrics or other metrics, one or more of the multiple wearabledevices may perform the signal processing, including feature extractionand classification.

At 550, the biometric features and other metrics identified at 540 canbe stored or provided to a user as feedback. In various embodiments thefeatures identified at 540 may be stored in memory module 318 onwearable device 300, in a memory module of remote processing devices108, in a cloud storage module of cloud server 110, or in a combinationof these storage locations.

Examples of biometric features may include muscle intensity, musclecoordination, muscle ratio, muscle balance, fatigue, activity intensity,lactate, hydration, muscle efficiency, heart rate, respiratory rate,body temperature, blood pressure, breathing volume, Vo2 max, and glucoselevels among others.

Other metrics that do not require electromyography may also be acquired,as described herein. Examples of other metrics for a user may includelocation, weather time, distance, calories, acceleration, speed,cadence, activity, pedal position, mechanical power, seat height,inclination, wind velocity, ambient temperature, humidity, air pressure,altitude among others. In some cases, the particular activity beingperformed by the user can also be identified based on the acquiredsignals being analyzed

In some cases, the wearable device or a remote processing device (e.g.,a mobile phone) may include a display. The wearable device or remoteprocessing device can be configured to display feedback based on the atleast one biometric identified at 540. For example, the feedbackprovided to a user may be a report or a visualization of the at leastone biometric.

In some cases, the remote processing device or wearable device mayinclude a user interface for changing or adjusting the display beingprovided. For example, the display may include different reports orvisualizations, and a user may be able to scroll or browse through thedifferent feedback available. In some cases, the configuration of thefeedback on the display can also be customized based on a user'spreferences.

In some cases, the display on the remote processing device or wearabledevice can be placed into a sleep mode to reduce battery consumption.The display may be activated based on input received from a user. Insome cases, the display can be automatically activated where theprocessing performed by the wearable device, remote processing device orcloud server generates an alert for the user, such as an indication offatigue, dehydration, or potential injury.

The display may also provide summary information to a user regarding acompleted activity. In some cases, historical records stored on a remoteprocessing device or cloud server can be displayed to a user toillustrate progress trends in the user's activity and physiologicalresponse.

Referring now to FIG. 6, shown therein is a flowchart illustrating anexample embodiment of a method 600 for biometric tracking. Method 600can be performed using components of system 100 and wearable devices 102and 300 in which electrodes and a signal acquisition unit are provided.

At 610, a plurality of electrical signals, including at least one EMGsignal, are captured using the electrodes on the wearable device. Thesignals can be digitized by an A/D converter of the signal acquisitionunit and provided to the controller on the wearable device. As mentionedabove, in some cases the signals may be amplified prior to beingdigitized. As well, the signals may be provided to the controllerunfiltered such that all filtering of the acquired signals is performedafter digitization.

In some cases, the plurality of electrical signals can include skinimpedance signals or bio-impedance signals. In some cases, skinimpedance signals can be acquired using two electrodes positioned on theuser's skin surface. For example, a small current signal can be injectedinto the user's skin surface using a first electrode of an electrodepair (e.g. electrode 406A) and received by a second electrode of theelectrode pair (e.g. electrode 406B). In some cases, the electrodes inthe electrode pair can be positioned nearby (e.g. within ˜1 cm) to oneanother to maximize the conduction that occurs through the user's skin.The amplitude of the signal received by the second electrode may becompared to the amplitude of the injected signal to calculate theimpedance of the user skin surface. The phase of the received signal mayalso be compared across differing frequencies.

Bio-impedance signals can be acquired by measuring signals using atetrapolar electrode configuration. A signal can be injected into theuser's body using a first electrode pair (e.g. 406A and 406B). Thesignal received by a second electrode pair (e.g. 406C and 406D) can bemeasured. A comparison of the injected signal to the received signal canbe used to determine bio-impedance for the user.

In some cases, the electrode pairs can be positioned at far apartlocations on the user skin surface, such as cross-body or at oppositeends of a limb such that skin conduction is negligible. This may alsoprovide an indication of the user's bio-impedance that is morerepresentative of the hydration levels throughout the user's body,rather than in a localized region. In some cases, the electrodes may beplaced on the same limb, such as a first electrode pair on the front ofa user's thigh and a second electrode pair on the back of the user'sthigh.

To acquire both the bio-impedance signal and the skin impedance signal,a similar process can be used. In each case, an AC injection signal canbe generated, e.g. a 50 kHz signal. The injection signal can be currentlimited (e.g. less than 1 mA) to prevent a build-up of capacitance. Amultiplexer configuration, such as the configuration described abovewith reference to FIG. 4B, can be used to route the injection signal toa first electrode (in the case of skin impedance sensing) or to a firstelectrode pair (in the case of bio-impedance sensing).

The impedance signal received by the second electrode (or electrodepair) can be provided as an input to a differential amplifier. As well,the injected signal can be tapped to the differential amplifier. Theoutput of the differential amplifier can be fed into a full waverectifier module which removes the AC component of the differentialamplifier output signal to obtain a root mean square (RMS) value of theoutput signal. The RMS value can be passed through a low pass filter toobtain a DC voltage level. The DC voltage level can be used to determinethe magnitude of the impedance signal.

In other cases, an inphase/quadrature (I/Q) demodulator can be used todetermine impedance. An injection signal can be generated and injectedto the user skin surface using a first electrode (for skin impedance) orfirst pair of electrodes (for bio-impedance) as described above. Animpedance signal can then be acquired using a second electrode (skinimpedance signal) or second pair of electrodes (bio-impedance signal) asdescribed above. The impedance signal can be provided to a differentialamplifier, and the differential amplifier output signal can be providedto the inphase/quadrature demodulator. The in-phase and quadraturecomponents of the voltage can then be extracted from the amplifiedvoltage signal.

An oscillator can be used to demodulate the amplified voltage signal.The oscillator source signal can be configured to correspond to thegenerated injection signal. That is, the oscillator in-phase signal canhave the same frequency and phase as the injected signal. An oscillatorquadrature phase signal can then be generated by delaying the in-phasesignal by 90°. The in-phase and quadrature phase oscillator signals canbe switched and fed to a mixer.

The mixer can combine the in-phase and quadrature phase oscillatorsignals with the amplified voltage signal to generate in-phase andquadrature phase voltage signals respectively. Each of the in-phasevoltage signal and the quadrature voltage signal can be passed through alow pass filter to obtain DC values for the in-phase and quadraturesignals. These signals can then be used to determine the real andimaginary components of the impedance.

At 620, calibration data is generated based on a subset of theelectrical signals acquired at 610. For example, the plurality ofelectrical signals acquired at 610 may include one or more skinimpedance signals and/or one or more bio-impedance signals. Thecalibration data can be generated based on acquired skin impedancesignals to account for changes in the EMG signal that may be caused bychanges in the conductivity of the user's skin surface. As describedabove, in different embodiments the calibration data may be determinedby any one or more of the wearable device, remote processing device orcloud.

At 630, the calibration data is used to process the EMG signal using thecalibration data. As mentioned, the calibration data may account forchanges in conductivity of the skin surface that affect the EMG signalsacquired at 610.

At 640, at least one biometric is determined from the processed EMGsignal. For example, the biometric may be one or more of muscleintensity, muscle coordination, muscle ratio and muscle fatigue fortargeted muscles. In some cases the biometrics may be determined fromanalyzing the EMG signal in combination with additional sensorinformation such as motion data or bio-impedance data, for example.

Once the at least one biometric has been determined at 640, additionalbiometrics and other metrics may also be determined in a similar manneras described in methods 500 and 600, for example. The at least onebiometric may then be stored or displayed as described above at 550 ofmethod 500.

Referring now to FIG. 7, shown therein is a diagram illustrating variouscomponents of system 700 that can be used to acquire and processelectrical bio-signals, for example as described with reference to FIG.6.

Generally, system 700 includes a wearable device that is generallyanalogous to wearable devices 200 and 300, and which includes aplurality of electrodes 706 a-706 n positioned to acquire an electricalsignal from a user skin surface when the wearable device is secured tothe user skin surface. The electrodes 706 are coupled to a signalacquisition unit 702 and a signal injection unit 762. Signal acquisitionunit 702 may correspond generally to the signal acquisition unitdescribed herein with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The system 700 may also include a processing module 790. The variouscomponents of processing module 790 can be distributed between awearable device, remote processing device and cloud server in differentembodiments. Processing module 790 includes a calibration unit 750, afeature processing module 740, one or more communication module 770, oneor more storage modules 780 and a signal injection controller 760.

Signal acquisition unit 702 is operatively coupled to the calibrationunit 750 and the feature processing module 740. Feature processingmodule 740 includes a pre-processing unit 742 and a featureidentification module 744. Signal acquisition unit 702 may acquireelectrical signals using the electrodes 706 and digitize the acquiredsignals as described herein. These signals may then be provided to thecalibration unit 750 and/or the feature processing module 740 forfurther processing.

In some embodiments, one or both of the feature processing module 740and the calibration unit 750 may be provided on the wearable deviceitself. In other embodiments, the feature processing module 740 and thecalibration unit 750 may be located on a remote processing device orcloud server, and the digitized signals may be communicated without anyprocessing from the wearable device to the feature processing module 740and calibration unit 750 using one of the communication modules 770. Insome cases, aspects of the feature processing module 740 and thecalibration unit can be distributed among the wearable device, remoteprocessing device and cloud server.

For example, signal acquisition unit 702 may acquire digitized skinimpedance signals provide these to the calibration unit 750. Thecalibration unit 750 may generate or update calibration data based onthe received signals. The calibration data can then be provided to thefeature processing module 740 for use in processing the acquired signalsand identifying various biometrics from the acquired signals. In somecases, the calibration unit 750 may also use pre-processing unit 742 topre-process the received signals to remove noise and other undesiredsignal components before generating the calibration data.

Generally, the pre-processing unit 742 can be used to remove undesirablesignal components from the received digital signals. In someembodiments, the pre-processing unit 742 may also be used to calibratethe received digital signals using the calibration data generated by thecalibration unit 750.

The feature identification module 744 can be used to analyze thereceived electrical signals (and other sensor signals) to identify atleast one biometric for the user. In some cases, the featureidentification module 744 can be used to determine a plurality ofbiometrics and other metrics for the user. The feature identificationmodule 744 may also be used to analyze trends and provide feedback andalerts to a user based on the analysis.

Skin conditions, such as perspiration, and other constantly changingenvironmental factors can impact the strength and other properties ofthe EMG signals. Calibration data can thus be used to enable reliablecomparison between EMG signals acquired throughout the performance of anactivity, and over time as these parameters change.

Signal injection controller 760 may be used to generate and provideprecursor signals used in acquiring a skin impedance signal and/or abio-impedance signal. Signal injection controller 760 may inject smallelectrical pulses into particular electrodes 706 using signal injectionunit 762. The corresponding electrical signals received at otherelectrodes 706 can be analyzed to determine features such as skinimpedance and bio-impedance, as discussed above.

For example, the relative amplitude of the received signals can becompared with the amplitude of the injected signals. This can be used togenerate calibration data, which can in turn be used to process the EMGsignals and determine various biometrics. For example, hydration may bedetermined by analyzing a bio-impedance signal acquired from an injectedelectrical pulse. Hydration may be determined in various ways, such asusing existing hydration vs. bio-impedance models, lookup tables, ortrained machine learning models.

Signal injection controller 760 may also be used to detect when one ormore electrodes 706 have become disconnected or are not in contact witha user skin surface. By detecting an open circuit in an electrode 706,system 700 may determine that the electrode has lost contact either withthe user skin surface, or has become disconnected from the wearabledevice. Accordingly, an alert may be provided to the user indicatingthat the lead has been disconnected.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to supplement biometric dataacquired from electrodes proximate to the user's skin with other data,such as motion or position data. In still other embodiments, electrodesmay not be provided and therefore only motion or position data may beavailable. Nevertheless, in such embodiments it may still be desirableto recognize or identify a specific activity being performed by theuser. Recognition of the specific activity may provide additionalinsights into the data acquired from the electrodes, or may be usedindependently to measure other metrics, such as activity type.

In at least some of the described embodiments, user activity can berecognized and distinguished from other activities using data from anaccelerometer sensor.

In particular, some of the described embodiments facilitate recognitionand distinguishing of activity based on data from a three-dimensionalaccelerometer sensor of a wearable device.

Conventionally, distinguishing between different activity types on awearable device can be challenging, because the sensors are mountedlocally and are affected significantly by their orientation as well asadjacent joints and muscles. Furthermore, wearable devices are typicallysmall in size and lightweight, and do not have significant processingcapability compared to a laptop or desktop computer, for example.

The described embodiments provide activity recognition and are capableof being performed even using the limited processing capability of awearable device. Two example embodiments are described below, howeverother variations are possible.

In a first example embodiment, here called a “feature-based” approach,various values and statistical features can be extracted from inputsignals from the accelerometer, and projected onto a space that isselected to facilitate better segregation of data points that correspondto different activity types. Classifiers can then be used to identifythe regions in this projected space in which the data points fall, andthereby distinguish between the different activity types. Generally, insuch embodiments, accelerometer data is collected during differentactivities, and first pre-processed to reduce the effects of noise.Features are extracted from a moving window of the data, and areprojected onto the space that separates the activity classes the most orat least better than unprocessed data. Finally, classifiers are trainedand used on this space.

In another example embodiment, here called a “model-based” approach, agenerative model is trained for each activity type. After training, thegenerative model is capable of capturing the temporal and spatialcharacteristics of each activity type. Different activity types can bedistinguished by identifying similarities between the input data withthe generative models.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A and 8B, there are illustrated side and frontviews of a wearable device 800 positioned on the leg of a user. Wearabledevice 800 is generally analogous to wearable device 200 and 300 asdescribed herein, and includes an IMU with an accelerometer 805.Although shown here as positioned on a leg, in other embodiments,wearable device 800 may be positioned on different limbs or bodyportions.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the accelerometer 805 may be positionedlaterally along the limb, so as not to interfere with an ordinary rangeof motion. In other embodiments, accelerometer 805 may be positionedelsewhere along the limb.

As shown, a coordinate space for accelerometer 805 is chosen such that apositive x-axis extends in an anterior direction, the positive y-axisextends in an inferior direction and the positive z-axis extends in alateral direction relative to the user's body. Other coordinate spacesand orientations may also be used with suitable modification of thedescribed embodiments.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated an example process foranalyzing activity of a user's body using a wearable device positionedon a user's limb. Process flow 900 may be carried out using a wearabledevice provided with an accelerometer as described herein.

Process flow 900 begins at 910, with a wearable device receiving aplurality of signals from at least one sensor, e.g., accelerometer, ofthe wearable device. The plurality of signals generally comprises atacceleration signals for at least one axis and generally at least threeaxes (e.g., x-, y- and z-axis). In some embodiments, the plurality ofsignals may also include gyroscope signals, magnetometer signals,electromyography signals, as described herein.

At 920, each of the plurality of signals may be initially filtered togenerate a plurality of filtered signals. For example, the plurality ofsignals may be low-pass filtered to remove noise. In some cases, theplurality of signals may also be high-pass or band-pass filtered toremove undesired signal components. Specific examples of filtering aredescribed with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

At 930, a controller of the wearable device generates motion data fromthe plurality of filtered signals.

Motion data includes processed (e.g., filtered) signals received from,for example, an IMU 322, along with derivations from the filteredsignals, such as velocity and position signals, mean, standarddeviation, maximum, minimum and the like.

In some alternative embodiments, a different processor, such as a remoteprocessing device processor or a cloud server processor, may receive theplurality of filtered signals via wired or wireless communication andmay generate the motion data from the plurality of filtered signals.

At 940, the motion data may be classified to identify activity type.Examples of classification approaches are described with reference toFIGS. 10A and 11A.

Referring now to FIG. 10A, there is illustrated an example process foranalyzing activity of a user's body using a wearable device positionedon a user's limb. Process flow 1000 is an example embodiment of processflow 900, and may be carried out using a wearable device provided withan accelerometer as described herein.

Process flow 1000 is an example of a model-based approach. Initially,the plurality of acceleration signals are processed to compute positionsignals. Optionally, the acceleration signals may be filtered orsmoothed to remove noise before further processing. To improveperformance, the position signals may be segmented to identify repeatedor quasi-periodic signal patterns which may correspond to repetitions ofan activity (e.g., steps, cycling repetitions).

Pre-trained generative models, for example those that can be generatedusing the process described with reference to FIG. 10B, are then used.In the described example, Hidden Markov Models (HMM) are used.

Process flow 1000 begins at 1010, with a wearable device receiving aplurality of signals from at least one sensor, e.g., accelerometer, ofthe wearable device. The plurality of signals includes an accelerationsignal for at least one axis and generally signals for at least threeaxes (e.g., x-, y- and z-axis). In some cases, the plurality of signalsmay include other signals, such as gyroscopic signals, magnetometersignals, electromyography signals, and the like.

Acceleration signals received from the sensors contain information aboutthe motion being performed. In particular, the shape of the accelerationsignals over time is characteristic of the motion being performed, andeach individual's strategy/technique may be observed in the accelerationsignals.

The acceleration signals may be affected by environmental noise andlocal vibrations of the sensor. To reduce the effects of environmentalnoise, filtering may be performed at 1020. For example, a moving averagefilter may be applied to each acceleration signal (for each axis of theaccelerometer):

${{acc}(t)} = {\frac{1}{{2N} + 1}( {\sum\limits_{j = {t - N}}^{t + N}\;{{acc}_{raw}(j)}} )}$where acc_(raw)(j) is the signal data collected from the sensors at timej, acc(t) is the moving average result for time t, and N is the windowlength of the moving average filter. Other types of low-pass filteringmay also be performed in addition to, or in lieu of the moving averagefilter.

One example of a raw acceleration signal is shown in FIG. 14A. Acorresponding pre-processed acceleration signal is shown in FIG. 14B.

Next, position signals may be computed at 1030. To compute the positionsignals, the DC component of the acceleration signals may be removed:

${{acc}_{zm}(t)} = {{{acc}_{raw}(t)} - {\frac{1}{{2N} + 1}( {\sum\limits_{j = {t - N}}^{t + N}\;{{acc}_{raw}(j)}} )}}$where acc_(zm)(t) is the zero mean output at time t, acc_(raw)(t) is thesensor reading at time t, and N is the width of the window and should belarge enough to include at least one local maximum and one localminimum. In the example embodiments, N may be set to 1 second, howeverother window lengths may also be used.

An intermediate velocity signal can be obtained for each accelerationsignal by integrating the zero mean acceleration data:vel(t)=∫₀ ^(t)acc_(zm) dtwhere vel(t) is the velocity at time t.

Position signals may then be computed by repeating the above-mentionedprocedure for each velocity signal:

${{vel}_{zm}(t)} = {{{vel}(t)} - {\frac{1}{{2N} + 1}( {\sum\limits_{j = {t - N}}^{t + N}\;{{vel}(j)}} )}}$pos(t) = ∫₀^(t)vel_(zm) dtwhere pos(t) is the position at time t.

At 1032, a discrimination routine may be used to discriminate signalpatterns or “segments” that correspond to repetitions within theactivity. For example, segments may be discriminated by applying anadaptive thresholding technique. For example, a threshold may becomputed as the midway point between a local maximum and a local minimumin the position signal. Alternatively, other linear or non-linearfunctions of mean, midean, minimum, and maximum can be used. Signalvalues that exceed the threshold can be identified as belonging to asegment. Signal values that fall below the threshold can be discarded.In other embodiments, the threshold may be pre-specified. In still otherembodiments, the discrimination routine may be omitted, although thismay diminish performance in some cases.

At 1034, the segmented (or non-segmented, if discrimination is notapplied) position signals are input to a plurality of pre-trainedgenerative models that correspond to a plurality of possible activityclasses. Each of the plurality of pre-trained generative models ispre-trained using data corresponding to a unique activity class, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 10B.

A forward algorithm, such as the Viterbi algorithm, can be used tocompute the probability that the observation sequence is generated byeach of the pre-trained generative models.

At 1050, the model with the largest log likelihood value can beselected. The activity class that corresponds to the selected model canbe selected, that is, identified, as the current activity class.

In some cases, error can be reduced by using, for example, a votingprocedure based on previously selected activity classes. Accordingly, at1055, the selected current selected activity class can be stored in amemory, and compared to previously stored activity classes. For example,the voting procedure may compare 3 previously stored activity classeswith the current activity class.

Referring now to FIG. 10B, there is illustrated an example process fortraining models for use in process 1000 of FIG. 10A.

Modelling signals (e.g., time series data) allows capturing the mainattributes and information of a signal and representing them in a usefuland compact manner. Hidden Markov Models, a type of generative model,are described by Rabiner, Lawrence R., “A Tutorial on Hidden MarkovModels and Selected Applications in Speech Recognition,” Proceedings ofthe IEEE 77 (2), IEEE: 257-86 (1989). HMMs are a stochastic modellingapproach that characterizes the statistical properties of a signal. Thismodelling technique captures both temporal and spatial variability ofthe time series, and has been therefore applied in modelling humanmotion as described by Kulić, Dana, Christian Ott, Dongheui Lee, JunichiIshikawa, and Yoshihiko Nakamura, “Incremental Learning of Full BodyMotion Primitives and Their Sequencing Through Human MotionObservation,” The International Journal of Robotics Research, SAGEPublications, 0278364911426178 (2011), and Wang, Liang, Weiming Hu, andTieniu Tan, “Recent Developments in Human Motion Analysis,” PatternRecognition 36 (3), Elsevier: 585-601 (2003).

A HMM represents a time series signal by an evolving unobservable statevariable. The state variable transitions through a discrete set ofvalues, and the probability of these transitions is determined by astate transition matrix. At each time step the system either remains inits current state or transitions to another state. HMMs are trained on asample dataset of signals. Where segmentation is used, the HMMs aretrained on the segmented portions of the signal. An example of an HMMstructure is illustrated in FIG. 10C. In the HMM structure of FIG. 10C,the signal is modelled by unobservable states (S1, S2, . . . Sn). Ateach timestep, the system either remains in its current state ortransitions into another state with a probability.

HMMs are used as the generative models described herein. The HMMs can betrained using a training dataset obtained from multiple users, or overmultiple sessions, or both, and which may include motion data such asacceleration and position signals. HMMs are generally capable ofcapturing the temporal and spatial variations in human motion.

Separate HMMs are trained for each separate activity class. Accordingly,each signal segment of interest is modeled by each of the plurality ofHMMs, which may be used to distinguish between the activity types ofwalking, running and cycling.

In the example embodiments, five states are modeled: State 1 correspondsto accelerating from the initial posture (e.g., default posture); state2 corresponds to decelerating to reach the “halfway through” posture;state 3 corresponds to reaching and remaining halfway through theposture where velocity in the z-axis becomes zero; state 4 correspondsto accelerating towards the initial posture; and state 5 corresponds todecelerating and reaching the initial posture. The observations (i.e.,inputs) of the HMMs can be the position signals from a three-axisaccelerometer. In some embodiments, acceleration signals themselves mayalso be used as observations. Based on the inputs at each timestep, theHMM either remains in its current state or transitions into anotherstate with a probability.

Referring now to FIG. 10B, there is described an example process 1060for training generative models (e.g., HMM) for use with process 1000 toidentify activity classes.

Process 1060 begins at 1062 with the receipt of a sample dataset thatcan include sampled sensor signals from multiple users, or multiplesessions of users, or both.

At 1064, the signals may be filtered using an approach similar to 1020of process 1000.

Likewise, at 1066, position signals can be computed from the filteredsignals using an approach similar to 1030 of process 1000.

At 1068, the computed position signals can be analyzed, e.g., by a user,to identify signal segments in the computed position signals. The signalsegments can be marked or tagged by a technician user, who may betrained to identify signal segments, and the resulting signal segmentsstored by the processor. In some embodiments, the signal segments may beautomatically identified using segmentation algorithms. In the lattercase, segments may be identified automatically, and the technician useror end user may be prompted to label or tag a corresponding activityclass. The HMM can be updated accordingly.

At the same time, the activity class for each identified signal segmentmay also be marked or tagged.

At 1070, HMMs may be trained on signal segments corresponding to eachknown activity class. The process may be repeated at 1072 for eachactivity class that is desired to be identified. Once there are nofurther activity classes, training may be completed at 1080 and the HMMparameters stored for each model.

The model-based approach is described with reference to HMM generativemodels, however other generative models, may also be used such asMixture of Gaussians, dynamic movement primitives and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 11A, there is illustrated another example processfor analyzing activity of a user's body using a wearable devicepositioned on a user's limb. Process flow 1100 is an example embodimentof process flow 900, and may be carried out using a wearable deviceprovided with an accelerometer as described herein.

Process flow 1100 is an example of a feature-based approach. In thisapproach, signal values and statistical features can be extracted fromthe plurality of acceleration signals. Feature selection or featureprojection can be utilized to project or map the extracted features intoa predetermined feature space, where data for each activity is morereadily separable. Predetermined feature spaces may be determined asdescribed with reference to blocks 1166, 1168 and 1170 of a process suchas process 1160 of FIG. 11B. Finally, a classifier is used to determinethe region of the space in which the data points are projected, andthereby the likely activity.

Process flow 1100 begins at 1110, with a wearable device receiving aplurality of signals from at least one sensor, e.g., accelerometer, ofthe wearable device. The plurality of signals includes an accelerationsignal for at least one axis and generally signals for at least threeaxes (e.g., x-, y- and z-axis).

The acceleration signals received from the sensors contain informationabout the motion being performed. In particular, the shape, amplitudeand frequency components of the acceleration signals over time ischaracteristic of the motion being performed, and each individual'sstrategy/technique may be observed in the acceleration signals.

The acceleration signals may be affected by environmental noise andlocal vibrations of the sensor. To reduce the effects of environmentalnoise, filtering may be performed at 1120.

One example of a raw acceleration signal is shown in FIG. 15A. Acorresponding filtered acceleration signal is shown in FIG. 15B.Filtering may include, for example, lowpass filtering with cut-offfrequency between 7-10 Hz.

At 1130, a plurality of feature vectors is generated based on theplurality of filtered signals. Each feature vector includes a pluralityof feature values representative of some feature of the input signal forsome time step of the filtered (or unfiltered) input signal. Eachfeature vector can include time domain and frequency domain data basedon the plurality of filtered signals. In some embodiments, each featurevector can include values computed from other time steps, for examplewithin a moving time window, mean, average, maximum or minimum withinthe window and others.

The feature vector may be defined as:v _(f) _(t) =[f ₁ _(t) . . . f _(n) _(t) ]where f_(i) _(t) is the ith feature calculated at time t, and n is thenumber of features calculated at each time step. At each time stepvalues such as mean, minimum, maximum, range, variance, Fouriertransform coefficients of the accelerometer signal (e.g., the first fivecoefficients) and others may be computed and used as feature values ofthe feature vector. Signal amplitude may be represented as d. The rateof change in the accelerometer signal value, {dot over (d)}, in timewindow T may be computed and included in the feature vector:

d_(W) = [d_(t − T)  …  d_(t)]${\overset{.}{d}}_{W} = \lbrack {{\overset{.}{d}}_{t - T}\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu}{\overset{.}{d}}_{t}} \rbrack$$v_{f_{t}} = \begin{bmatrix}{\min( d_{W} )} & {\max( d_{W} )} & {{mean}( d_{W} )} & {{range}( d_{W} )} & {{FFT}( d_{W} )} \\{\min( {\overset{.}{d}}_{W} )} & {\max( {\overset{.}{d}}_{W} )} & {{mean}( {\overset{.}{d}}_{W} )} & {{range}( {\overset{.}{d}}_{W} )} & {{FFT}( {\overset{.}{d}}_{W} )}\end{bmatrix}$where d_(t) is the data at time t, {dot over (d)}_(t) is the rate ofchange in the data at time t, T is the window length, and FFT is theFast Fourier Transformation.

Fast Fourier Transformations (FFT) can be computed using the followingformula:

${X(k)} = {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N}\;{{x(j)}\omega_{N}^{{({j - 1})}{({k - 1})}}}}$where X(k) is the k th frequency component, N is the length of the inputdata x, and

$\omega_{N} = e^{\frac{{- 2}\pi\; i}{N}}$is the Nth root of unity. The number of frequency components may be, forexample, k=1 . . . 5.

At 1134, the generated feature vectors are mapped onto the predeterminedfeature space determined, e.g., using blocks 1166, 1168 and 1170 ofprocess 1160 of FIG. 11B. Mapping may be performed in several ways,depending on the approach used to predetermine the feature space.

In some embodiments, the generation of feature vectors at 1130 andmapping at 1134 may be merged, by computing only those feature valuesare required in the predetermined feature space.

Once the feature vectors have been mapped onto the predetermined featurespace, classification of the feature vectors can be performed at 1150using pre-trained classifiers. Classifiers may be trained as describedwith reference to FIG. 11B.

Accordingly, as described herein, the projected features of each featurevector can be computed at each time step, and the activity type computedby the hierarchical classifier.

At 1156, the selected activity type for the current time step can becompared to previously stored activity types for previous time steps. Insimilar fashion to the model-based approach, error can be reduced byusing, for example, a voting procedure based on previously selectedactivity types. Accordingly, at 1156, previously stored activity typesmay be compared to the currently classified activity type. For example,the voting procedure may compare 3 previous activity type predictions.

In general, the predicted activity type for each time step is classifiedseparately with the feature-based approach, while each signal portion(e.g., segment consisting of multiple time steps) is classified as awhole in the model-based approach. Regardless of whether segments orindividual time samples are assessed, an overall classification of theactivity type being performed need not rely solely on the currentclassified activity type. That is, past classification results can betaken into account and analyzed for a more accurate understanding of theactivity. One approach is to average the current prediction and theprevious predictions.

In some cases, however, activity types may be similar, and the featurevectors may be close to classification boundaries, resulting in aprediction sequence that toggles between the two activities. In suchcases, the majority of the predictions may not provide a good indicationof the original classification. In such cases, a Bayesian approach maybe employed in place of a majority voting procedure. The Bayesianapproach may aggregate the classification results over multiple timesteps or segments. A Naïve Bayes classifier, or other classifiers suchas Support Vector Machines, K-Nearest Neighbour, Artificial NeuralNetworks and Hidden Markov Models, can be trained to make theclassification.

Referring now to FIG. 11B, there is described an example process 1060for determining feature spaces and training classifiers to identifyactivity types, for use with process 1100.

Process 1160 begins at 1162 with the receipt of a sample dataset thatcan include sampled sensor signals from multiple users, or multiplesessions of users, or both.

At 1164, the signals may be filtered using an approach similar to 1120of process 1100.

Likewise, at 1166, position signals can be computed from the filteredsignals using an approach similar to 1130 of process 1100.

Because a high-dimensional feature vector can cause over-fitting, apredetermined feature space can be selected at 1168 to reduce thedimensions of the feature space, and thereby allow selecting thefeatures that are best suited to distinguishing activity class oractivity type.

Feature selection and feature projection are two approaches that can beused to reduce the dimension of the feature space and allow selection offeatures that facilitate classification.

The dataset of sample data obtained at 1162 may be analyzed and featurevectors computed as at 1130 of process 1100.

The resulting feature vectors can be provided in a matrix D_(f) offeature vectors v_(f), which includes multiple features for differenttime samples and different activity classes or types. An output matrixL_(f) may be provided, which contains an activity class or activity typethat is known a priori for each feature vector v_(f) in the sampledataset D_(f).

In one approach, an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) as described by Gelman,Andrew, “Analysis of Variance—Why It Is More Important Than Ever,”Annals of Statistics 33 (1): 1-53 (2005) can be used. ANOVA candetermine the most informative (e.g., distinguishing) features of afeature set. In particular, ANOVA determines the probability that aparticular feature in a plurality of feature vectors (e.g., mean) isgenerated from the same distribution. The smaller this probability valueis, the more likely it is the feature under consideration originatesfrom a different activity type than the reference feature(s) for aparticular activity type. When an individual feature (e.g., mean) has asmall probability for a given reference feature, it can be inferred thatthe particular feature will be a useful comparator for separatingactivity types (as compared to other features with a higher probabilityvalue across all activity types).

For example, the following procedure can identify the most discriminantfeatures:

F_(i) = [f_(i_(t))], t = 1  …  N p_(i) = anova(F_(i))$F_{S} = {\arg\mspace{14mu}{\min\limits_{F}\mspace{14mu} p_{i}}}$where F_(i) is the matrix of all the available samples of the featuref_(i) in the training set, N is the number of available samples, p_(i)is the probability value calculated for each feature separately usingANOVA, and F_(S) are the features with the smallest probability p.

In training, ANOVA can be applied to the different activity types (orclasses) simultaneously. The features identified using ANOVA analysiscan be determined as the best distinguishing features for the variousactivity types. As described with reference to 1130 and 1134 of process1100, other features subsequently can be discarded or not computed atall. For example, if ANOVA analysis identifies mean, variance, first andthird Fourier transform coefficients as distinguishing features, thenthese may form the common feature space used for classification.Conversely, the second Fourier transform coefficient may be discardedand other features, such as maximum or minimum values, need not becomputed at all.

FIG. 16A illustrates an example dataset mapped into a projected featurespace created using an ANOVA approach. Specifically, feature vectorsfrom the example dataset were projected into a three-dimensional spacederived using ANOVA. The activity type of each feature vector isidentified by the marker in the plot 1600. Three different activitytypes were used, with three different markers applied in plot 1600(i.e., square, triangle and hexagon). The separability of the data inthe projected feature space can be seen clearly.

As an alternative to ANOVA, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) may beused, as described by Smith, Lindsay I, A Tutorial on PrincipalComponents Analysis (2002). PCA is an unsupervised approach for featureprojection. Under PCA eigenvalues and eigenvectors are computed of acovariance matrix for a dataset. The eigenvectors are sorted based oneigenvalues in a descending manner. Each eigenvector can form the basisof a new dimension, onto which the dataset can be projected. Thosedimensions which exhibit the most variant directions (e.g., the largesteigenvalues) in the dataset can be selected as the bases of a projectedspace. Other dimensions can be discarded to reduce data needs andcomputational complexity.

When training, the bases of the new projection space can be found asfollows:V=eig(cov(D _(f) −D _(f))){tilde over (D)} _(f) =D _(f)×sorted(V)where D _(f) is the mean of data set D_(f), {tilde over (D)}_(f) is theprojection of D_(f) onto the new space and sorted(V) contains the sortedeigenvectors such that the eigenvectors corresponding to highereigenvalues are ordered first.

In the example embodiments, PCA is applied to training data resulting ina feature space (i.e., projection space) generated using the first threedimensions identified as most variant. Once the predetermined featurespace is found, the transformation can be performed on the streamingdata to map the incoming data onto the predetermined feature space.

FIG. 16B illustrates an example dataset mapped into a projected featurespace created using a PCA approach. As with ANOVA, feature vectors fromthe example dataset were projected into a three-dimensional spacederived using PCA. The activity type of each feature vector isidentified by the marker in the plot 1600. Three different activitytypes were used, with three different markers applied in plot 1600(i.e., square, triangle and hexagon). The separability of the data inthe projected feature space can be seen clearly.

Once each feature space has been determined, the feature vectors may bemapped onto the determined feature space at 1170.

Next, classifiers may be trained for distinguishing activity types inthe feature space at 1172.

A hierarchical classification approach can be used as described above.Generally, each classifier can be trained to compare a single activitytype to all remaining activity types. The preferred feature space forthis binary comparison between a first activity type and remainingactivity types is found for the training dataset. The process may berepeated at 1174, until enough classifiers have been trained to classifyeach activity type, whereupon the process may complete at 1180.Accordingly, at each level of the hierarchical classifier, a binaryclassifier is trained to separate one action from the remaining actionsin the trained feature space. The sample data corresponding to the firstactivity type is removed from the data set, and additional featurespaces are identified for additional activity types in similar fashion.The procedure is repeated until the optimal feature space to separatethe second activity from the remaining activities is found in the samemanner, and the second layer's classifier is trained on this featurespace. This procedure continues until a classifier has been trained forall for all activity types.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example hierarchical classification approach. Asshown, a first comparison is made at node 1202, which classifies betweena first activity type 1205 and remaining activity types 1210. Next, asecond comparison is made between remaining activity types 1210 andactivity type 1215. Additional comparisons can be made sequentiallythereafter.

Several classifier types are suitable for hierarchical classification.For example, Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Naïve Bayes (NB)classifiers can be used.

SVMs construct a half space in any dimension n, which can be used forthe purpose of classification, or regression. In the exampleembodiments, a soft margin is employed so that in the absence of ahyperplane that can perfectly separate the data, the classifier willchoose a hyperplane that maximizes the possibility of separating thedata while still minimizing error.

When training the SVM, the matrix D_(f) includes the projected featuresand L_(f) includes the corresponding activity types of the data suitablefor the binary classification at each level of the hierarchicalclassifier. The SVM is trained at each level of the hierarchicalclassifier using a dataset, to separate one activity type from all ofthe remaining activity types.

In a Naïve Bayes classifier, at each step, one activity type is comparedto all remaining activity types. The Naïve Bayes classifier is trainedon the identified feature space using the training data (e.g., at eachlevel) to separate a particular activity type from the remainingactivity types in the corresponding feature space.

A Naïve Bayes classifier operates on the assumption that each inputfeature, f, is independent of the others:p(f _(i) |f ₁ , . . . ,f _(i−1) f _(i+1) , . . . f _(n))=p(f _(i))p(y _(i) |f ₁ , . . . f _(n))=p(y _(i) |f ₁)p(y _(i) |f ₂) . . . p(y_(i) |f _(n))where p is the probability distribution, and y_(i) is the ith outputvector. The probability distribution may be a normal distribution, forexample. Once the Naïve Bayes classifier is trained, each new samplepoint can be identified as belonging to a particular activity type. FIG.13 illustrates a schematic model of a Naïve Bayes classifier.

In a K-Nearest Neighbour (K-NN) classifier, the K-NN classifier predictsthe label of each point by utilizing the labels of its nearest neighborsin the training dataset. For example, let L(x) be the label predictedfor sample x, then the K-NN classifier can be formulated as follows:L(x)=majority(L(x _(K) _(result) ))where x_(K) _(result) are the K nearest neighbour and are obtained from:

$x_{K_{result}} = {{\arg\mspace{14mu}\min\limits_{\forall{x_{l} \in Z}}} \parallel {x - x_{i}} \parallel}$where Z is the training data and ∥x−x_(i)∥ is the Euclidean distancebetween x and x_(i). In the example embodiments, the nearest neighbouralgorithm was used, with K=1, however other values can also be used. TheK-NN, SVM, and NB approaches are described by Duda, Richard O., Peter E.Hart, and David G. Stork, Pattern Classification (2nd Edition),Wiley-Interscience, 2000.

The described example embodiments have been validated using experimentaldata. In one experiment, a ten-fold cross validation was performed inwhich 90% of a sample data set was used to train feature-based andmodel-based processors (i.e., “Cross Validation”). The remaining 10% ofthe data set was used to test the trained processors. In anotherexperiment, sample data for multiple test subjects was used to train,and one test subject was left out of the training dataset and used toverify the trained processors (i.e., “Leave One Out”).

The results of the first and second experiments are shown in Table 1:

TABLE 1 Projection Cross Validation Leave One Classifier Method AccuracyOut Accuracy SVM ANOVA %83.49 ± %4.32 %94.59 ± %6.79 SVM PCA %81.63 ±%4.49 %93.89 ± %7.80 NB ANOVA %67.11 ± %7.56 %87.78 ± %9.12 NB PCA %68.63 ± %09.17  %76.23 ± %29.53 KNN ANOVA %79.99 ± %3.04  %85.21 ±%12.39 KNN PCA %81.27 ± %4.94  %85.09 ± %10.67 HMM N/A %93.75 ± %3.12%94.96 ± %4.41

As seen above, experimentation was performed for various postures whencycling. When a single accelerometer is located on the thigh of a user,cycling while standing may appear very similar to walking and running.To further validate the described example embodiments, additional datafrom standing cycling was obtained, and the validation repeated toproduce the results shown in Table 2. It can be observed that thefeature-based approach may be less accurate than the model-basedapproach at distinguishing standing cycling activity type.

TABLE 2 Projection Cross Validation Leave One Classifier Method AccuracyOut Accuracy SVM ANOVA %41.34 ± %8.69  %72.74 ± %38.41 SVM PCA %43.66 ±%8.36 %67.87 ± %38.7 NB ANOVA %39.44 ± %5.19  %68.49 ± %37.96 NB PCA%43.21 ± %6.19  %65.57 ± %43.93 KNN ANOVA %45.44 ± %4.88 %82.15 ± 14.20 KNN PCA %50.71 ± %4.75 80.58 ± 3.10 HMM N/A %98.63 ± %1.21 %91.23 ±%8.85

While the applicant's teachings described herein are in conjunction withvarious embodiments for illustrative purposes, it is not intended thatthe applicant's teachings be limited to such embodiments. On thecontrary, the applicant's teachings described and illustrated hereinencompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, withoutgenerally departing from the embodiments described herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of analyzing activity of a user'sbody using at least two wearable devices worn by a user, the methodcomprising: receiving a first EMG signal from an EMG sensor of a firstwearable device positioned on the upper thigh of a first leg of theuser, the first wearable device being positioned to acquire the firstEMG signal from the vastus lateralis muscle of the first leg; receivinga second EMG signal from an EMG sensor of a second wearable devicepositioned on the upper thigh of a second leg of the user, the secondwearable device being positioned to acquire the second EMG signal fromthe vastus lateralis muscle of the second leg; receiving a plurality ofmotion signals from a motion sensor of each of the first and secondwearable devices, wherein the plurality of motion signals comprisesacceleration signals; filtering the plurality of signals to generate aplurality of filtered signals; generating, using a processor, aplurality of feature vectors based on the plurality of filtered signals,wherein each feature vector comprises a plurality of feature values, andwherein each feature vector is associated with a time step of thefiltered signals; generating, using the processor, motion datarepresentative of body motion from the plurality of filtered signalsbased on the plurality of feature vectors; comparing, using theprocessor, a temporal length and an intensity of the first EMG signaland a temporal length and an intensity of the second EMG signal incombination with the motion data; and outputting an indication of amuscle imbalance of the user based on the comparing.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein generating the motion data comprises computing aplurality of position signals based on the acceleration signals.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein computing the plurality of position signalscomprises removing low-frequency components and integrating twice toobtain position signals.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein generatingthe motion data further comprises segmenting quasi-periodic portions inthe plurality of position signals.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising classifying the motion data, wherein classifying the motiondata comprises: modeling, using the processor, a plurality of possibleactivity classes of the at least one wearable device in a segmentedportion; and computing a likeliest class for the segmented portion, outof the plurality of possible activity classes.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein computing the likeliest class comprises comparing the computedlikeliest class with at least one previous class computed by theprocessor.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the modeling is HiddenMarkov Modeling and wherein each of the plurality of possible activityclasses is modeled using a pre-trained modeler.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein filtering the plurality of signals comprises low passfiltering each of the plurality of signals.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein each feature vector comprises time domain and frequency domaindata based on the plurality of filtered signals.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein each feature vector is computed over a moving time window.11. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the motion data furthercomprises mapping the plurality of feature vectors onto a selectedfeature space.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the mapping isdetermined by ANOVA computation over a training data set.
 13. The methodof claim 11, wherein the selected feature space is predetermined byPrincipal Component Analysis of a training data set.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, wherein classifying the motion data comprises performing, usingthe processor, hierarchical classification to compute a likeliest classfor a current time step.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein computingthe likeliest class comprises comparing the computed likeliest classwith at least one previous class computed by the processor.
 16. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor further comprises apositioning sensor, wherein the plurality of signals comprises positiondata from the positioning sensor, and wherein generating the motion datafurther comprises determining position from the position data.
 17. Asystem for analyzing activity of a user's body using at least twowearable devices worn by a user, the system comprising: a first wearabledevice configured to be worn on the upper thigh of a first leg of theuser, the first wearable device comprising at least one motion sensor,and an EMG sensor configured to be positioned to acquire an EMG signalfrom the vastus lateralis muscle of the first leg; a second wearabledevice configured to be worn on the upper thigh of a second leg of theuser, the second wearable device comprising at least one motion sensor,and an EMG sensor configured to be positioned to acquire an EMG signalfrom the vastus lateralis muscle of the second leg; one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the EMG sensor and the at least onemotion sensor of each of the first and second wearable devices, the oneor more processors, collectively, configured to: receive a plurality ofsignals from the at least one motion sensor of the first and secondwearable devices, wherein the plurality of signals comprisesacceleration signals; receive a first EMG signal from the EMG sensor ofthe first wearable device and a second EMG signal from the EMG sensor ofthe second wearable device; filter the plurality of signals to generatea plurality of filtered signals; generate a plurality of feature vectorsbased on the plurality of filtered signals, wherein each feature vectorcomprises a plurality of feature values, and wherein each feature vectoris associated with a time step of the filtered signals; generate motiondata representative of body motion from the plurality of filteredsignals based on the plurality of feature vectors; compare a temporallength and an intensity of the first EMG signal and a temporal lengthand an intensity of the second EMG signal in combination with the motiondata; and output an indication of a muscle imbalance of the user basedon the comparison.